A motion for reconsideration in Arizona asks a court to revisit a decision it just issued, and the rule that applies depends on what kind of case you’re in. Civil cases follow Rule 59 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure. Criminal appeals follow Rule 31.20 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure. Post-conviction relief proceedings follow A.R.S. § 13-4239. All three share a 15-day filing deadline, but the grounds, the court you file in, and the consequences of missing the window are different in each track.
Civil Cases Under Rule 59
Rule 59 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure covers motions for a new trial and motions to alter or amend a judgment. You have 15 days after entry of judgment to file, and the parties cannot extend that deadline by agreement. A court can extend it only in the narrow circumstances allowed by Rule 6(b)(2).1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 59 – New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment
The grounds Rule 59 recognizes are broader than most litigants expect:
- A procedural irregularity that deprived a party of a fair trial.
- Misconduct by the jury or the prevailing party that affected the outcome.
- Surprise or accident that reasonable preparation could not have prevented.
- Newly discovered material evidence that could not have been found with reasonable effort before trial ended.
- Damages that were clearly excessive or clearly insufficient.
- Legal errors, including evidentiary rulings and incorrect jury instructions.
- A verdict driven by passion or prejudice rather than the evidence.
- A decision, findings of fact, or judgment that contradicts the evidence or the law.
After a bench trial, the court has more room to work. It can vacate the judgment, take additional testimony, make new findings of fact and conclusions of law, and enter a new judgment.1New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 59 – New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment The court can also order a new trial on its own within the same 15 days, even if nobody asked for one.
Criminal Appeals Under Rule 31.20
When an Arizona appellate court decides a criminal case, a party who thinks the court got something wrong can file a motion for reconsideration under Rule 31.20 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure. The motion goes to the same appellate court that issued the decision, not to the trial court.2New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 31.20 – Motion for Reconsideration
You have 15 days from entry of the decision to file. The motion is capped at 3,500 words and must include a certificate of compliance confirming the word count. Any response is also capped at 3,500 words and follows the same formatting requirements under Rule 31.6(b).2New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 31.20 – Motion for Reconsideration
This is a narrow tool. The appellate court has already reviewed the record and written a decision, so restating arguments the court already rejected rarely moves the needle. Motions that succeed identify a specific factual point the court misread in the record or a legal principle it applied incorrectly.
Post-Conviction Relief: Motion for Rehearing
Post-conviction relief cases operate under A.R.S. § 13-4239. After the trial court rules on a Rule 32 petition, any party can move that same trial court for a rehearing within 15 days of the ruling. The motion must explain in detail why the party believes the court erred.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-4239 – Review
The response schedule runs from service, not filing. The opposing party has 15 days after being served to respond, and the moving party then has 10 days to reply.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-4239 – Review
One point worth knowing before you file: a motion for rehearing is not required before you petition the appellate court for review. The statute expressly says so, and filing a motion for rehearing does not limit which issues you can raise later in a petition for review.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-4239 – Review If skipping straight to the appellate court makes more strategic sense, you can.
If the trial court grants the rehearing, it can amend its previous ruling without holding another hearing, or it can hold a new hearing and then either amend or reaffirm the original decision. When it amends, it must explain in writing why it changed course.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-4239 – Review
Filing a motion for rehearing or a petition for review automatically stays the trial court’s order until all review is complete, unless the trial court specifically orders otherwise.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-4239 – Review Neither side’s outcome takes effect while procedural options remain open.
What Grounds Actually Work
Across all three tracks, certain arguments repeatedly carry the day. The strongest is a clear legal error, where the court applied the wrong standard or misinterpreted a statute. Courts respond to something concrete they got wrong, not to disagreement about how they weighed the evidence.
Newly discovered evidence is recognized but strictly limited. The evidence generally must have existed during the original proceeding, must have been undiscoverable through reasonable effort at that time, must go beyond reinforcing evidence the court already considered, cannot serve solely to attack a witness’s credibility, and must be significant enough that it would likely change the outcome. Evidence that fails any of those tests will not support a motion.
Factual errors in the court’s reasoning can also succeed, particularly where the court misstated testimony or overlooked something material in the record. The line to watch is between “the court missed this” and “the court weighed this differently than I wanted.” Courts reconsider the first; they almost never reconsider the second.
If the Motion Fails: Appellate Review
In post-conviction cases, any aggrieved party has 30 days after the trial court’s final decision on the petition or motion for rehearing to petition the appellate court for review. The petition is filed with the clerk of the trial court and must lay out the specific errors alleged. A cross-petition may be filed within 15 days of service of the original petition.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-4239 – Review
An issue not raised in the petition or cross-petition is waived. If you believe the trial court made three errors and mention only two, the third is gone.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-4239 – Review Completeness at this stage matters more than at almost any other point in the process.
From the Court of Appeals, the next stop is the Arizona Supreme Court. Under Rule 23 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure, a petition for review must be filed within 30 days after entry of the Court of Appeals’ decision, unless a timely motion for reconsideration is pending. A cross-petition may be filed within 15 days after service of the petition, or within 30 days after the Court of Appeals’ decision, whichever is later.4New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Arizona Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure Rule 23 – Petition for Review The Supreme Court has full discretion over which cases it accepts and denies most petitions, so treating the Court of Appeals as effectively the last stop is the safer planning assumption.
Victim Notification in Post-Conviction Cases
If your case is on the post-conviction track, one boundary is worth knowing. Under Arizona’s Victims’ Bill of Rights and A.R.S. § 13-4239, victims have the right to be notified of court action, but only upon request.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Constitution Article 2 Section 2.1 – Victims Bill of Rights3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-4239 – Review Victims who have not affirmatively asked for updates will not automatically receive notice when a court rules on a motion for rehearing or a petition for review.